Sports Alice Academy
by Mystical Ace
Summary: Mikan and Hotaru enter the best sports school, Alice Academy, however there's a problem, it's an all-boys school, so they pretend to be guys and enter the school. Who are their roommates and how will they manage their disguise while excelling in sport?
1. Entering Alice Academy

**Entering Alice Academy**

**Disclaimer**: Don't own Gakuen Alice~

This story is currently being edited.

* * *

When Mikan was six years old, her hobby was collecting bugs, which her mother greatly opposed. When she was eight years old, Mikan's dream was to become a plumber, which her mother greatly opposed to too. On the day of Mikan's tenth birthday, she went up to her parents, with the look on her face saying that she had decided her future occupation. Her mother clung weakly onto her husband for support as they both waited for the absurd hobby or occupation to come out of Mikan's mouth; however they were astonished at the normality of the new hobby. Mikan had said she wanted to play basketball. From then on, she hadn't changed her like of basketball, and her parents were relieved to find that their daughter had settled with a normal hobby.

* * *

Mikan ran a brush through her long chestnut hair as she hummed a tuneless song to herself. Once she was finished getting the tangles out of her hair, she put her brush down and stood up to open her window. As she opened the window, sunlight slowly trickled into her room and landed on the basketball that was in the corner of Mikan's room. Mikan followed the small trail of light and her gaze landed on her basketball. A smile tugged at her lips. It was the basketball her father had given her for her 10th birthday, igniting her love of basketball.

"Mikan-chan, breakfast is ready!" she heard her mother call from the living room below.

"Coming!" Mikan yelled back and changed out of her teddy-bear pyjamas and into a casual t-shirt and pair of jeans. As Mikan closed her bedroom door behind her as she heard several alarm clocks go off in the room beside her. She sighed and stomped over to the room.

"Onii-chan, get up already, your alarm clocks are driving me mad!" Mikan shouted impatiently to her older brother, Kazuya, she could barely hear herself over the shrill rings of the clocks. She heard several loud thumps and the alarm clocks reluctantly stopped ringing. Smiling to herself, Mikan entered the living room and immediately, the smell of pancakes overwhelmed her.

"Good morning, Mikan-chan, we're having pancakes today!" her mother chirped. Mikan hooted and sat down at the table.

"Where's Father?" Mikan asked energetically, swinging her legs under the table, almost kicking a chair over.

"In the study, he'll come as soon as he smells food," her mother chuckled while flipping a pancake over.

Bzzt! Bzzt! Bzzt! Mikan let out a small gasp and she fumbled around in her pocket for her phone, and finally, she managed to fish it out. She answered by sliding her finger across the phone's touch screen.

"Hello?"

"Have you looked in the mail yet?"

"Eh? Hotaru? Why?"

"Look and you'll see."

"Is that Hotaru-chan?" Mikan's mother asked. Mikan nodded.

"I'm going to check the mail," Mikan stated, jerking her thumb to the door and rushed out, still holding the phone.

Mikan flipped through the letters in the letterbox, looking for her name.

"Um…Yukihara Mikan…No…Um…Eh? Yukihara Ren?"

Mikan stared at the letter with the name 'Yukihara Ren' on it. She checked the address, and it was right.

"I just knew you'd forget, remember? The Alice Academy is an all-boys school, so we had to enrol ourselves as boys," Mikan heard Hotaru sigh over the phone.

"Oh! I forgot! Ahaha…" Mikan sheepishly laughed while ripping the envelope open with barely containable excitement.

_To Mr Yukihara Ren_

_We are pleased to announce that you have passed the test for entering the Alice Academy, Tokyo's best all-boys sports school, and have officially earned a place in it. We hope that you will prosper into a fine sportsman in the future under the guidance of our gifted teachers. Please note that the Alice Academy is a boarding school, and you will only be allowed to return home during holidays._

_School resumes on the 18__th__ of June._

_Regards, the Alice Academy_

"H-Hotaru! I-I passed!"

"That's good for you."

"D-Did you pass?"

Mikan's hands were still shaking from excitement.

"Yes, remember to pack soon, school starts in one week."

"I will!"

Saying that, Hotaru abruptly hung up. Mikan was too in high spirits to care, she waltzed back into the kitchen and seated herself at the kitchen table. Mikan waited for the rest of the family to sit down too before announcing her good news. Her mother placed a plate, filled with pancakes in front of her.

"What happened? You're in good spirits!" her mother sai as she served the other members of the family.

"Guess what? Well, I got in!" Mikan squeaked.

"Got in to what?" her brother, Kazuya muttered, still half-asleep.

"The Alice Academy!" Mikan yelled in frustration, no one was listening to her.

There was silence.

Her Father, who was reading the newspaper lowered it and stared at Mikan.

"Eh? Isn't that the school I go to?" Kazuya asked, breaking the silence.

"Oh! That's great for you!" her mother gushed.

"I know, we're so proud of you!" her father added.

"Y-You aren't mad that like I decided to go to an all-boys school right?" Mikan tentatively asked.

"No! Of course not! It's wonderful to fulfil your dreams, although I am a little worried about it being an all-boys school, but your brother is there and your uncle, Shiki, is the headmaster there, so I guess it'll be fine," her mother said.

"Did Hotaru get in?" Kazuya asked, asking the obvious.

"Yup~" Mikan replied, shoving a mouthful of pancake into her mouth. She closed her eyes in delight, the pancake was so soft and the butter and syrup added just enough sweetness. "These are seriously good," she murmured to herself.

After breakfast, Mikan helped her mother wash up.

"Mikan-chan, I think you'll need to cut your hair," her mother said. The dish Mikan was drying almost slipped from her hand. There was no way Mikan was going to cut her hair. She had looked like a boy ever since she was young, and finally, her mother agreed to let her grow her hair long in high school.

"I don't want to! How about hmm…..how about we get a wig?"

"Let me think for a moment…..that actually might be possible, I'll go check with our hairdresser to see if they can arrange a wig for you."

"Really? Thankyou so much! I loooveee you!"

Mikan's mother smiled and continued covering the dishes in dishwashing liquid.

* * *

Mikan tucked her hair into the wig and pulled it onto her head. It fit snugly.

"Wow, I look like a boy," Mikan remarked.

"Hahaha! You really do look like a boy now, just like before, when you were younger!" Kazuya teased. Mikan shot him a death glare that immediately shut him up.

"Mikan, you should go pack now, school starts tomorrow," Mikan's father advised.

"Ok." Mikan nodded and tucked back a loose strand of hair, which fell out of the wig.

After taking the wig off, Mikan raced upstairs to pack her bags. She dragged her suitcase out and flipped it open.

"Need any help?" her mother asked, poking her head into Mikan's bedroom. Mikan nodded appreciatively. "What's supplied there, at the school?"

"Um…I remember it being, toiletries, uniform, bed, blanket and food, of course."

"Then, I think the only necessities we need to pack are your casual clothes."

"I-I want to bring…my…um…comfort items too…"

Mikan's mother laughed. Mikan's face turned beetroot red and she looked away.

"Aw, you're so cute when you're embarrassed! I'll go get your clothes, boyish ones right?"

Mikan nodded gratefully.

"I feel kind of nervous, I mean, like pretending to be a boy," Mikan admitted.

"Of course you would, but you've got Hotaru too."

Mikan smiled and looked around for the toys she wanted to bring.

After a while, they finally finished packing. Mikan flopped herself on her bed and wiped her forehead.

"Finally done!" she sighed.

"I'm going to prepare lunch now, call me if you need me."

Mikan heard the door close and she did the same thing with her eyes. She was excited and nervous at the same time. Mikan would have to adopt a new voice and act like a guy. It was quite pressuring to think that she would have to do that for the rest of her high-school life. With those worries flying around her head, Mikan fell asleep, only to be awoken for lunch soon.

"Hotaru!" Mikan shouted, running towards the black car that waited outside her house.

"Hurry up and get in, we're going to be late," Hotaru snapped from inside the car. She didn't like and would not be delayed.

"It wasn't my fault! Onii-chan wouldn't wake up no matter what!" Mikan blamed, pointing at Kazuya who was running behind her.

"Oi! Don't blame it on me, you brat! It wasn't entirely my fault!" Kazuya denied loudly.

"Both of you, shut up and get in the car," Hotaru silenced.

Soon, everyone was inside the car and they began travelling. It was quite a long trip; it took a few hours to reach the Alice Academy. Mikan had fallen asleep in the process, and was snoring quietly with her head lolling on the window.

"We have arrived," the driver stated, waking Mikan with his voice.

Mikan drowsily tottered out of the car, followed by Hotaru and Kazuya. She lifted her head and immediately, all her sleepiness was blown away. The school was huge! The main building towered over her, making Mikan feel insignificant.

"Amazed? Well that isn't all of the school, this is only the main division where lessons take place, there are still dormitories, dining halls, sport halls, swimming pools, ovals and much more," someone beside them stated emotionlessly.

Mikan turned her head around to see a thin woman dressed in a simple black dress. Her lips were puckered and it looked like she was sucking on a lemon, when she wasn't. She narrowed her already small eyes at them. Mikan had to admit, the woman looked pretty ugly.

"What are you looking at?" the woman asked in an adenoidal voice. Mikan guiltily shook her head and averted her gaze back to the school.

"Ah. Mr Yukihara Ren, Mr Imai Haruto and Mr Yukihara Kazuya, isn't it?" another voice, male, asked. Mikan whipped her head around the other way to see her uncle, Shiki. "Hati-san, you are dismissed now, please finish working on the files I sent you. Ren-san, Haruto-san, follow me."

The woman who greeted them left, leaving Mikan and the others with Shiki.

"Kazuya-san, you can go ahead to your room and unpack, I'll show these two their rooms," Shiki said. Kazuya grinned and waved goodbye before dashing off to talk to his friends. Once they were alone, Shiki said in a low voice, "Make sure you two don't disclose your genders to anyone, I shall do my best to prevent that from happening, but I cannot watch over you all the time. If you disclose your genders, I am afraid to say that I have no control over what happens."

"Y-yes!" Mikan said and Hotaru nodded. Shiki, carried their luggage, one in each hand, and walked off.

"Follow me, we're going to the dormitories now," were his only words.

"He's so strong, I had major trouble with my suitcase!" Mikan whispered to Hotaru who ignored her.

Soon, they reached the dormitories. It was humongous, even bigger than the main hall, which was ginormous. Mikan's eyes bulged out and her jaw dropped to the ground. Even Hotaru was a little shaken although she tried to cover it up.

"A-Actually, I have something I need to tell you two," Shiki admitted, breaking Mikan and Hotaru's trance.

"Go ahead," Hotaru stated, her eyes still on the dormitory. Mikan noticed that Shiki looked a little sheepish.

"Well, you see, you're probably expecting a room to yourselves, as of course, your girls, but-"

"Don't tell me…" Hotaru cut off.

"Yes, I am very sorry, you two are going to have to share with 2 other boys. There weren't enough rooms, I'm very sorry,"

Mikan's eyes widened and her hand flew to her mouth in shock.

"You're acting like a drama queen," Hotaru commented, athough her eyes portrayed surprise too.

"B-But! The two boys you're sharing with wouldn't do anything even if they knew you were girls," Shiki added, trying to lessen the impact on Mikan, who was slowly turning to ashes and drifting away.

"Shiki-sama! Urgent news, one of the boys has been injured!" Hati, the ugly woman they saw before, yelled as she ran to Shiki.

"I'm sorry, you two, your room number is 1827, here are your keys and uniform, meet in the Main Hall at 8:30 am," Shiki said before rushing off. Mikan and Hotaru glanced down at the packages of uniform and keys that Shiki had given them.

"We should go in," Hotaru said and dragged Mikan into the building.

* * *

"Wow!" Mikan gasped in awe as she gazed at their room, 1827. In front of them, was a large room with 4 beds that each had a bedside table. The room had a private toilet and shower too. There also seemed to be a small living room which consisted of a television, table and couch. Two of the bedside tables, the ones near door, had clocks and books etc. on them while the other two, the ones near the window, were empty.

"I guess these are our beds then!" Mikan assumed and began walking towards them. Suddenly, Mikan felt a whoosh beside her.

"Eh? Hotaru? Where are you?" Mikan asked, looking behind her for Hotaru, who wasn't there. Confused, Mikan looked back at the beds, and to her surprise, Hotaru was sitting on the bed nearest to the window. She held up a sign saying, this is my bed now.

"I don't want to sleep near a boy, so I'm taking this bed," she stated and started unpacking.

"Hotaruu! That's too mean! I wanted that bed!" Mikan complained.

"Here, uniform, go change, and don't call me Hotaru, I'm Haruto, _Ren_," Hotaru said and threw Mikan the uniform. Without another word, Hotaru entered the bathroom.

"H-How do I look?" Mikan asked, still looking at herself in the mirror. She was dressed in a white shirt, red tie, black blazer and red checked trousers. Her wide hazel eyes scanned Hotaru for any signs of emotion, however Hotaru displayed none on her face.

"You look like a guy, like I do."

"…Is that supposed to be a compliment or what?"

Suddenly, the door to their room, 1827, opened and two guys stepped into the room.

"Natsume! What were you thinking?"

"Ruka, that guy deserved it."

Mikan's eyes widened and she stared at the newcomers, and they stared back.

* * *

Chapter 2 shall come up pretty soon if the circumstances stay as they are

-mystical ace-


	2. Basketball

**BASKETBALL**

**DISCLAIMER: I always like to think that Gakuen Alice is mine, however, it is heartbreakingly not true. Gakuen Alice doesn't belong to me. -sighs-**

* * *

They were good-looking, that was all Mikan could think of, and that was something that she would cry over for the next few years. How could she not think of anything else when looking at someone? It was absurd.

A pair of claret eyes eyed Mikan warily while the other, a pair of blue eyes seemed welcoming.

"So you're our new roommates?" the one with crimson eyes coldly asked and closed the door with a thud. Mikan immediately came off with the impression that he was a taciturn person. She nervously nodded and hid behind Hotaru who ignored them and began eating. Hotaru always chose the best times to begin eating her crab brains.

"Natsume! You're scaring them! Hello our new roommates and sorry, Natsume's just in a bad mood, how about we introduce ourselves like we do in class!" the blond-haired guy brightly said. Natsume scoffed and flopped onto his bed. Mikan noted that it was the bed beside hers.

"I'm Ruka Nogi and I'm 16 years old. I play Hockey," Ruka said. "Natsume, your turn next, and do it properly."

Natsume sighed, sat up and faced Mikan and Hotaru, who was still ignoring them and munching on who-knows-what-she-was-eating-now.

"Natsume Hyuuga, 16, Basketball."

"How about you two?" Ruka asked, he was trying very hard to make every get along well. Mikan wondered why, but came up with the explanation that Natsume didn't have many friends later on. It probably wasn't true, but that was the best her logic could come up with.

"I'm Mikan-"

"I'm _Haruto_ Imai, 15, " Hotaru cut off, putting emphasis onto Haruto. She shot Mikan a glare before continuing. "I play Hockey."

"Mikan? Is that your name?" Ruka asked, his face portraying nothing but confusion.

"Oh! Mikan's not my name, my name's Ren Yukihara and I'm 15 years old and I play basketball!" Mikan flusteredly rambled. She brushed some hair out of her eyes and put on a convincing smile.

"Then why did you say you were Mikan before your companion cut you off?" Natsume questioned suspiciously while flicking a page of his manga.

"T-That was because, well, everyone calls me Mikan, so yea…it's my nickname!" Mikan laughed. Hotaru face-palmed and looked away, Mikan was the worst liar ever, therefore it wasn't surprising that Natsume didn't look convinced, however, he pursued it no further.

"Anyways, so you play basketball right?" Ruka eagerly pushed on. Mikan slowly nodded, wondering why that would be of any significance. "That means that Natsume's your team captain then!"

Mikan's jaw fell to the ground, she couldn't believe that _that guy_ was her captain. Mikan made a mental note about being more careful about her identity in the future.

"Main Hall," Hotaru stated, it was the first thing she said in a long time. Mikan made a little 'o' sound and her hand flew to her gaping mouth, indicating that she forgot.

"I completely forgot!" she gasped, unaware that the others had already realised that fact.

"Let's go down together then." Ruka stood up and held the door open for them.

* * *

"Welcome, welcome students! How were your holidays? The new term has started…" the principal rambled animatedly on, although no one was listening. Mikan squirmed in her seat and twiddled her thumbs as she waited for the principal to finish his introduction.

"Stop yawning, it's annoying," Natsume said from beside her. Mikan shot him a look and shut her gaping mouth. He smirked. She couldn't believe that Natsume was her Captain, the one who she was going to follow orders from a jerk like him all day. Though, Natsume did look pretty athletic. Mikan concentrated so hard on her thoughts, she almost didn't feel the kick that Hotaru gave her. Mikan's head snapped up and she gave Hotaru a questioning look.

"Assembly's ended, idiot."

Mikan's eyes bulged out and she looked around her, there was no one around here except for Hotaru, an annoyed Hotaru.

"How many times do you want me to call your stupid name and kick you?" she fumed while dragging Mikan out of the assembly hall.

"W-Where are we going now?" Mikan whimpered, Hotaru was scary when she was angry.

"Class."

"E-Eh? B-But we don't know what class we're in…"

"They said that the class lists are outside, near D block."

"O-Oh."

"Now shut up and walk properly."

Mikan stumbled after Hotaru and soon, they reached D block. There was a humongous crowd in front of the class lists, everyone was pushing and shoving. To put simply, it was hectic.

"Okay, let's do this!" Hotaru said while pulling up her sleeves, getting ready to push through the crowd. There seemed to be a strange glint in Hotaru's eyes which scared Mikan slightly. Hotaru placed a strong grip on Mikan's shoulder and dragged her through the crowd with her. After ages of hustling and bustling, pushing and shoving, they broke through the crowd and could see the class lists.

"Hmm…I wonder where I am…" Mikan muttered to herself while her eyes rapidly scanned the lists of names.

"Ah, I found it," Hotaru said. Mikan's head whipped around and her eyes sparkled.

"Where is it?" Mikan piped.

"My name, that is."

Mikan's face fell immediately.

"Ah," Hotaru said.

Mikan looked up again, hoping that Hotaru found her name.

"…There's a birdie over there."

Mikan's face fell again.

"Just joking, I found your name."

"Really? Where?"

Hotaru pointed to her name. Mikan followed her finger and found her name on class 2-B.

"We're in the same class," Hotaru stated before turning and began pushing her way out of the crowd. Mikan tried to follow, however, a new wave of students stopped her. Mikan was lost in the sea of people. Mikan looked around wildly for her best friend, however she could see no familiar faces.

Suddenly, someone bumped into her really hard, knocking her down.

"Ouch!" Mikan squeaked and rubbed her back.

"What are you doing?"

Mikan snapped her head up and saw someone blocking the light above her.

"Get up, would you! You're blocking the way," the mysterious person grunted and all of a sudden, Mikan felt a hand pulling her up and dragging her away.

"W-Wah!"

"Wah? What's that?"

The person let go of her hand and faced Mikan. Mikan's eyes widened, it was her roommate, Mr. Cynical.

"Thanks," Mikan muttered. Natsume smirked and sauntered off wordlessly. "What's with that guy, I say thanks and he just walks off!" Mikan thought while looking for the classroom 2-B.

"Idiot, what are you standing there dazed for?"

"Eh? Hotaru?"

"Who's Hotaru? It's _Haruto_ here."

"Hota-Haruto! Where were you?"

"Forget about questions, we're going to be late."

Hotaru sighed and began walking away.

"Wait!" Mikan shouted and ran after Hotaru.

* * *

"I'm Narumi-sensei and I'm your English teacher!" a blonde guy wearing a frilly shirt decorated with flowers and ribbons and a pair of matching pants. Mikan could do nothing but stare at him in disbelief. This guy was a teacher, an actual proper real teacher? She couldn't believe it.

"Mikan, it's rude to stare," Hotaru whispered, unaffected by Narumi-sensei's, well, shall we say, unusual taste in clothing. Mikan blushed bright red and she stared hard at the table.

The lesson dragged by, and finally, the wonderful shrill ring of the bell rang and Mikan immediately packed up. The rest of the day continued in a similar manner. Mikan thought English was too long, however Maths and Science were even worse!

"Hmm… what do we have next, Ho-Haruto?" Mikan asked while playing with her pacer.

"Sports."

Mikan's eyes widened and excitement was clearly written on her face.

"I'm so excited! What about you?" Mikan exclaimed, bouncing up and down on her seat.

"Yukihara-san, what are you doing? Stop bouncing around and sit down!" the teacher scolded. The rest of the class laughed. Mikan's face turned beetroot red and she idmmediately sat down with amazing speed. Sometimes, she hated how her face could turn red so easily.

"I'm not excited, we're going to have to deal with the problem of changing," Hotaru whispered, a grim look on her face.

"C-C-C-C-CHANGING?"

"Yukihara-san! What exactly are you talking about? Do not talk about inappropriate matters in my class!" the teacher shouted angrily, his forehead was becoming more wrinkled and a vein could be seen throbbing.

"I'm sorry!" Mikan apologised. She felt stares and laughter around her and at that moment, Mikan wanted to dig a hole and die. The teacher gave her one last sceptical look before he resumed teaching.

"I was just saying that we can't change with the others, we need to get a toilet and change in there," Hotaru quietly said.

"Oh. Hotaruuuu~ Why couldn't you choose basketball too? Why did you have to do Baseball? Why? Why?" Mikan moaned, careful to not raise her voice in case of being heard again.

"Baseball requires the least amount of energy out of the sports, plus, I'm good at it."

Mikan raised an eyebrow before hurriedly taking down the notes written on the board before the teacher decided to rub them off.

A wonderful sound, also known as the bell, rang out. It was normally the sound which Mikan looked forwards to in every class, however, this time was different.

It was sports next, with the additional baggage of changing.

Mikan grabbed her books, said a hurried goodbye to Hotaru, and sprinted off at full speed. Hurry, hurry, was all she could think off, and she did indeed hurry. In less than a minute, she reached the change rooms.

No one was there yet.

"Hmmm…I remember the teacher said that my locker was number 27 hmmm…where is it…" Mikan mumbled while her eyes desperately scanned for the number. "Ah! Found it!" Mikan flipped the door open and grabbed her sports uniform, which was laid neatly inside.

"Ah! Natsume, is that the newbie? What was his name again…? Ooh, I remember, Yukihara Ren!" someone chirped.

Mikan frantically looked around, trying to find the source of then voice, and she found it. There were a couple of boys standing in the doorway, with Natsume in the middle.

"Wow! He looks so cute, so feminine!" another one commented.

Mikan nervously looked away and tightened her grip on her sports uniform.

"I-I have to go change!" Mikan squeaked before dashing off into one of the free toilets.

"…He's shy isn't he? But I mean, seriously, we're all guys, why does he have to change in the toilet?"

Natsume didn't say a word and made his way to his locker, number 26 and changed into his sports uniform.

* * *

"I guess everyone has heard that we have a new student, Yukihara Ren. Now, let's have you do a self-introduction," the coach said while patting Mikan on the back. Her eyes nervously scanned her teammates; they were more or less in one place, waiting for her self-introduction.

"U-Um…I'm Yukihara R-Ren…" Mikan trailed off, she didn't know what else to say.

"Any questions?" the coach asked the class. There were none. "Ok then, we're going to engage in some warm-up activities and practices now. Everyone, jog 5 laps around this gym."

Mikan could hear moaning and complaints, however, the class did as they were told and began jogging at a relatively slow pace. Mikan hurriedly joined in.

"You know, you're pretty short for a basketball player," the person next to Mikan commented. Mikan glanced at him. His dark blue hair flopped messily over his eyes and under his left eye, there was a star tattoo which everyone seemed to notice when looking at him.

"I-I-I"

"No need to be that nervous, Shorty. I'm Tsubasa Ando, nice to meet you!"

"S-Shorty…"

"Ah! Tsubasa, you're getting along so well with him already, move it, it's my turn to introduce myself!" a person with blond spiky hair whined and elbowed Tsubasa playfully.

"YOU RASCALS! NO TALKING, RUN LIKE YOU MEAN IT!" the Coach bellowed.

"Ehhh…how boring…" the person who elbowed Tsubasa moaned. "But, whatever Coach says, I'm still gonna introduce my self, I'm Kokoro Yome, nice to meet you, Number 27. By the way, just call me Koko, everyone calls me that."

"N-number 27?"

"THAT'S IT! YOU STILL TALK? THEN 10 MORE LAPS FOR YOU WORTHLESS BUNCH!"

There was a series of moans, groans, complaints, cussing and protests.

After they finally finished the 'warm-up', the coach dumped a pile of skipping ropes in front of them.

"Fundamentals are essential, get moving," he boomed before disappearing into the sports equipment storeroom. Surprisingly, the class did know what to do, and one by one, they snatched a skipping rope and began skipping so quickly that the rope was a blur.

"We need to skip continuously for around 5 minutes or so, but in in this case, until Coach comes back" Tsubasa explained to Mikan before grabbing two ropes, throwing one to Mikan.

"Ah, thanks, umm…Tsubasa-senpai."

Tsubasa winked at Mikan. "No probs and you don't need the senpai."

* * *

"YUKIHARA! DO IT MORE QUICKLY! SIDE-STEPS ARE CRUCIAL IN IMPROVING YOUR AGILITY!"

"Y-yes!"

Mikan could feel beads of sweat emerging on her forehead which was crunched in concentration as she side-stepped as fast as she could, however, that was not still enough for Coach.

"YUKIHARA! FASTER! ANDO, CONCENTRATE!"

"Cooaaaccchh….we're tireeddd!" Koko moaned and made a big show in slumping to the ground.

"Finish this activity, as I've said before, FUNDAMENTALS ARE IMPORTANT! Oh, ten minutes is up, five minute rest all of you!"

Although the ringing in Mikan's ear drowned out practically any noise, she could hear the cheers of her class.

"That was a tough start, Coach must be serious about the competitions this year, hey are you ok Shorty?" Tsubasa asked while handing Mikan a towel and bottle of water.

"Thanks, I'm fine, just a little tired."

Mikan gulped down the water eagerly. At the corner of her eye, she saw Coach set out cones in a zig-zag pattern.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"It's the Weaving Fundamental or so the Coach calls it," someone answered.

"Ooh, I see, wait, who are you?"

"The name's Youichi."

"BREAK TIME OVER! THE WEAVING FUNDAMENTAL IS READY!" the Coach hollered. Mikan wondered if he ever got tired of yelling before closing her bottle of water and heading towards the cones where Coach was standing.

"Get into teams of five," Coach said. Mikan looked around nervously, hoping to not get left out. It was her first day here, so it wouldn't be a big surprise if she was left out, but she still hoped to be in a team where they wanted her.

"Ren! Over here!"

Mikan whipped her head around and spotted Tsubasa madly waving for her to come. Mikan hurried over, grateful that she wasn't left out and someone actually wanted her in his group.

"Oh, so isn't it the newbie, that idiot, my roommate."

Mikan's face fell, Natsume was on her team.

"Just roommate is enough! And I'm not an idiot!" Mikan protested while glancing at her other team-members. There was Tsubasa, Natsume, Youichi, Kokoro and her.

"That's right, Natsume, that was rude!" Tsubasa piped.

Natsume shot Tsubasa an evil glare which shut him up immediately.

"Natsume, it looks like Coach is about to same something, I would advise against talking anymore," Youichi said calmly.

"How do you kno-" Mikan said, only to be cut off by Coach.

"EVERYONE, SEE THE CONES IN FRONT OF YOU? ALL SHOUT YES IF YOU CAN!"

And, everyone did, they sounded like kindergartens.

"How did you know?" Mikan continued.

"Well, before Coach says something, he sucks in a big breath and the vein on his forehead sticks out," Youichi pointed out.

"ALRIGHT THEN, WHEN I BLOW THE WHISTLE, SPRINT AROUND THE CONES AS FAST AS YOU CAN, THIS IS A RELAY!"

Coach took a big breath and blew into the whistle. It made an ear-piercing ring which set off the first runners.

"Go, go!" Tsubasa shouted and pushed Natsume forwards. Natsume scowled, however lost no time and immediately darted forwards. He weaved in and out of the cones gracefully and returned in no time.

"Wow…" Mikan gaped at him. Although his mouth was foul, had a horrible personality, annoyed her, and she could name all the things Mikan didn't like about him for all day, however, she had to admit that he was good at basketball.

"What? Fallen in love?" Natsume teased, earning himself a glare from Mikan.

Soon, it was Mikan's turn and she sprinted at full speed, determined to not waste Natsume's skill to her clumsiness. Her light build aided her through the cones and she dexterously weaved in and out of the cones with little difficulty. However, her clumsiness took over near the end and she tripped, falling into the arms of Natsume and it was not pleasant. His body was almost rock hard and it hurt only a little bit less than banging into a brick wall.

"Watch where you're going, idiot," Natsume grumbled and walked away.

"So uncute," Mikan muttered and rubbed her head. Coach wandered over and blew his whistle loudly. How come everything Coach did seemed to be loud?

"Time for a small practice match," Coach said and began handing out bibs. "First years, no practice match for you guys, your match is tomorrow where your abilities and strengths will be tested." Coach passed Mikan and handed out a red bib to Natsume.

Soon, the whistle blew and the game started.

* * *

"ALL RIGHT! EVERYONE, CHANGE," Coach hollered.

"Man, I'm so sweaty, I'm going to have to take a shower!" Tsubasa moaned and dashed off to the showers. Natsume wordlessly headed back to the changing rooms with the rest of the group trailing behind him.

Mikan eyed Natsume, a frown emerging on her forehead. She'd guessed that Natsume was a good player, however she had never known he was _that_ good. It had almost been a one-sided practice match, with Natsume's countless goals and offensive plays. His defence wasn't bad either.

"Amazed?" Koko asked, appearing beside Mikan suddenly.

"N-Not at all!" Mikan denied.

Koko raised an eyebrow sceptically and shook his head. "Don't deny it, Natsume is a genius basketball player who has been recognised by many. Today, that match may have been seen as one-sided, but that doesn't mean that the others aren't any good. People such as Hideaki and Tsubasa are also our ace players, however after the holidays, their play has decreased and what you've seen wasn't their true potential."

Mikan slowly nodded, taking in the information as she entered the change rooms. The first thing she noticed when she stepped into the room, was that there people inside that weren't from the basketball team. They were big and bulky, probably from the rugby team.

"Why are they here?" Mikan whispered to Koko who shrugged.

"I have no idea why the rugby guys are here, but a word of advice, don't do anything to annoy them, the consequences are horrible," he whispered back and made his way to his locker. Wide-eyed and cautious, Mikan tentatively walked to her locker. There were a few rugby players talking in front of her locker.

"U-Um, excuse me," Mikan squeaked and squeezed between them. Mikan yanked open her locker door and grabbed her change of clothes before backing off to the toilets.

"Oi you," one of the rugby guys who were in front of her locker called.

"Y-Yes?" Mikan stammered and clutched her clothes tighter.

"Where are you going?"

"T-To the t-toilets." Mikan was vaguely aware that everyone in the change room had stopped talking. There was a strange atmosphere in the room, and it was pleasant one bit. All eyes were on her and the rugby person.

"Huh? Why? Be a man and change with the rest of us," the rugby guy continued and began to walk slowly to Mikan.

"I-It's personal issues."

"Are you not going to do what I say?" The rugby guy continued to lumber forwards, and the distance between them was getting shorter. Soon, he was so close to Mikan that he loomed over her. She could see his disformed face and the odour which seeked out of his mouth. His beady eyes narrowed until they were slits. Mikan heard whispers around the room and she begged for someone to come help her.

"What did you say about personal issues?" he hissed and raised a hand to grab Mikan's shoulder. Suddenly, there was a flash of white and someone smacked the rugby guy's hand away. Mikan let out a soft gasp and she looked up to see Natsume glaring at the rugby person.

"No one has to listen to you, I won't forgive anyone who dares to mess with one of my teammates," Natsume growled and stepped protectively in front of Mikan.

"N-Natsume?" Mikan whimpered.

"Go change," Natsume whispered and pushed her away. Mikan stumbled into a cubicle and changed with trembling hands. As she was changing, she noticed that it was eerily silent outside with only the occasional whisper. Mikan slipped her jumper on before rushing out of the cubicle to see what was going on outside.

"Oh, Ren! Were you scared?" Tsubasa asked.

"Wait, where's Natsume and that guy?" Mikan said while checking her wig hadn't slipped off while changing. It was intact.

Koko turned to face Mikan, wide-eyed. "The rugby guy said to settle it outside and Natsume agreed. He wouldn't let any of us come with him! What should we do? The rugby guys are really strong!"

Mikan grabbed her bag and yelled a hurried goodbye before racing out of the change rooms. Where could that guy go? Mikan sprinted around the school, searching for him and at last, she found him on a tree. Mikan jogged under the tree and leaned on it for a few moments, catching her breath.

"Hey," Mikan whispered and looked up. A pair of crimson eyes met her gaze. Natsume was actually quite unharmed except for a few scratches here and there.

"Don't look so surprised, did you expect me to loose?" he said, his usual smirk on his face.

"How did you do it? That rugby guy was like ten times your weight!"

"It's called brains, that guy only had the muscle, and shouldn't you be thanking me?"

"Thanks, really." Mikan placed her small hand on the tree and smiled as a wind blew the Sakura petals onto the ground, forming a small blanket of pink petals.

* * *

"Many of you are probably wondering why we, the basketball team, are sitting in a classroom and getting ready to watch a video," Coach said, "but this isn't just relax time, this is the time where I play the video of our last matches and reflect on our errors." Coach signalled for the lights to be turned off and pressed play. Mikan's eyes widened in amazement at the intensity of the game. Suddenly, the coach paused the footage at the point where the other team scored a three pointer. "This here, could have been avoided through..."

By the end of the video, Mikan had realised a fact that chilled her. It was the fact that Mikan had joined a team who were insanely strong.

* * *

**Second chapter up!**

**Reviews are greatly appreciated. **

**Also, it has been decided that that the sport is basketball, sorry for those who wanted other sports. **


	3. The Other Side

**The Other Side**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Gakuen Alice, and I forgot to mention this in chapter 2, but I don't own Kuroko who is in Kuroko no Basuke. **

**Deleting chapters and replacing with edited versions, no need to reread chapters, but rereading chapter 2 may be necessary. **

* * *

"Ren! Come sit and eat with us today, we need to talk about basketball!" Tsubasa called while waving his arm up and down, indicating the empty spot beside him.

"I have to ask Haruto first, oh wait, he's at baseball practice. Ok, I'm coming!" Mikan yelled back and jogged to the table where her basketball teammates sat. Mikan then pulled the chair out and sat down.

"You've probably been wondering why there is only the exact amount of members needed for a basketball game in our team, right?" Tsubasa asked and opened the plastic covering of his lunch.

"Um…yea…" Mikan lied, she never thought of anything.

"I thought so. Basically, every year, our coach recruits the exact same number of basketball players as the number who left. There were three 3rd years last year, therefore three 1st years were recruited this year, you, Kajo and Shinji. Understood so far?" Mikan nodded. "That's good, now onto introductions. As I've said before, I'm Tsubasa am a regular. Natsume over to the left of you is the captain and obviously a regular. Hideaki is also a reg. Then there's Sora, Youichi, Satoshi, Kei and Ryota, they're all on sub. However, there are currently two positions available for regular so these positions may change." Tsubasa took a bite of his sushi and grinned. "That's it then. Good luck for the match today, show Coach what you've got!"

Mikan grinned nervously and resumed eating. Suddenly, a question popped into her head.

"Hey, how come no one calls their senpai, senpai in our basketball team?" Mikan asked and almost felt proud to ask a quetstion.

Hearing this, Ryota looked up. "I was wondering when someone would ask. It's because saying like Tsubasa-senpai is too long so they aren't preferable in matches. That's why, in the basketball club, no one says senpai," Ryota explained while pushing back his light brown hair. His green eyes sparkled mischievously and a half-smile seemed to always be on his face. Mikan noticed for the first time, that Ryota definitely had the looks. She openly gaped at him, however stopped when she heard Natsume supress a laugh beside her.

"W-What?" Mikan asked, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. Natsume shook his head in amusement and looked away. At that moment, the bell decided the ring.

"Last class, sports. That's great isn't it?" Tsubasa commented without realising that no one was listening. Mikan chucked her wrapper into the bin and tried to calm the butterflies in her stomach about the upcoming decisive match.

* * *

Mikan positioned herself and scanned her team which consisted of Kajo, Satoshi, Kei and Sora. Suddenly, the whistle blew and the game started with a jump ball. Kajo leapt up to tip the ball, however the other player, Tsubasa was quicker, smacking the ball to Ryota who broke into a quick dribble. Dribbling wasn't Ryota's forte, so as soon as he saw the defenders closing on him, he sent a pass that cut cleanly through the air to Youichi. Youichi caught it deftly and dribbled a few steps before he saw his marker, Satoshi, closing in on him.

"Koko!" Youichi shouted and bounce passed the ball. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue, the ball stopped in its path to reach Koko and instead landed in Kajo's surprised hands.

"What?" a stunned Kajo asked himself, however took no time in passing the ball to Mikan who sped forwards in a low dribble.

"That happens to everyone who sees Hideaki play!" Tsubasa called.

Mikan tried to outrun Ryota, however he was fast, keeping up with her. She and Ryota stood facing each other for a few moments before Mikan decided that she would make the first move. She made a sudden jerk to her left, causing Ryota to lean that way too, ready to block her. However, it was a trick, and Ryota realised it too late. Mikan spun quickly and broke free of Ryota. Grinning, Mikan dribbled some further before raising the ball and pushing it out of her hands. It sailed gracefully the air and landed in the hoop, earning three points.

"Hmm…it's not bad, I'll have to get serious now," Ryota said and pushed his hair out of his eyes, revealing a glint in his eye.

Mikan felt the ball bouncing under her fingers as Ryota stood in front of her, his eyes trained on her. The intensity of his gaze represented his concentration, and that threw Mikan slightly off track.

"Don't look at the ball, don't look at the ball," Mikan told herself quietly, however her habit took over. As soon as Mikan glanced at the ball, Ryota darted in and swiped the ball away with a smooth yet strong flick of his wrist. The ball was in his possession now. Mikan gritted her teeth and darted after him, however Ryota had already passed the ball to Hideaki, who dribbled a few steps before passing to Shinji. From there, Shinji shot a three pointer while yelling something that sounded like sorry.

The game continued in a similar manner, every time anyone got the ball and started a dribble, Ryota would manage to knock the ball away and send it to the other side. Then, the other side would score a three-pointer with Shinji, and he never missed. Their team was crushing Mikan's.

Soon, the match ended with Ryota's team winning by ten goals. They got to rest a while before Coach called them together to announce the names of the two people who were chosen as regulars. The two new regulars were Ryota and Shinji. It wasn't surprising as Mikan had played badly in that match, but she still felt tears prickling in her eyes. Mikan had never realised that her one weakness could have caused this downfall. She had never played such strong opponents before, no, it was that she wasn't good enough. Mikan hurriedly grabbed her bag and ran out of the gym, unaware of Natsume's gaze.

"Do you think Ren-kun will be alright?" Shinji worriedly asked.

"There's something strange here, I'm sure Yukihara Ren wasn't like this in the acceptance test," Natsume muttered to himself, ignoring Shinji's concern.

* * *

Mikan banged on her brother's dorm door continuously.

"What's with this racket?" Kazuya asked and opened the door to find Mikan outside his door.

"Can I come in?" she asked, her bangs covering her face.

"Seriously? That banging doesn't imply that, so it seems I have no choice."

Mikan burst in and dropped into a nearby armchair. Kazuya flopped onto his bed.

"So, it seems you've finally remembered your brother. I was wondering if you had forgotten me within your first days of entering Alice Academy. Anyways, have you heard? My friends think that this girl is going to ask me out! Man, I'm excited; no one's ever done that to me before! Oh yeah, I heard this shop has sports shoes arrivals, I have to go see."

All of a sudden, Mikan realised what her brother was doing. He had noticed that something was wrong and purposely engaged in some silly chatter to help cheer her up. It seemed that her brother wasn't as stupid as she thought.

"Thanks," Mikan whispered in a raspy voice.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear as I was too busy talking, sorry."

"Hmph, you didn't hear, that's your fault, I'm not repeating."

Kazuya stuck out his bottom lip, like a kid, however recovered soon and began rambling on about the new arrivals again.

"Hey, onii-chan, I shouldn't' actually be here right?" Mikan asked and pulled a strand of hair back.

"What? Yes, you've finally realised, you're not supposed to be in my room."

"No, I meant that I shouldn't be here at Alice Academy."

"You passed the entrance test."

"Don't play dumb, you know what happened."

Kazuya lowered his eyes; his sister was right, he did know what his sister was talking about. Mikan seemed to have something that resembled a split-personality. Whenever she received a physical blow or her stress-level soared dangerously high, the other side of Mikan, or so she liked to call it, would come out. He'd seen Mikan play basketball in that mode once, and it had been an unforgettable event. She had crushed her opponent with that speed and agility. On the day of the trials, Mikan was so nervous that she kept on babbling non-stop and Hotaru's usual reaction was three hits to the head using her invention, the baka gun. Along with the mild physical impact and Mikan's stress, it had conveniently caused her change of mode. With the amazing level of play, Mikan had earned a place in the Alice Academy in a heartbeat.

However, Mikan never acknowledged that side of herself as herself. She rendered it impossible, therefore thinking anything that that side of her did wasn't her.

"I played against some of my teammates today, and the difference in strength was obvious. Then, I truly realised that it was as if I had cheated to get into the Alice Academy," Mikan explained.

"That's not true; you didn't choose to switch into that mode during the acceptance test."

"I didn't choose to, but there was a time where I wanted to. I really should drop out; I'm not worth it here." After saying that, Mikan abruptly stood up, grabbed her bag and made her way to the door.

"Wait! That's not true, you have potential, stop Mika-"

Mikan closed the door and ran down the long empty corridor.

* * *

She knocked on the office door with trembling hands. Questions ran through her mind. Was this the right decision? A chance to study in Tokyo's best sports school would never come again, but Mikan shut her eyes tightly and shook her head, as if to shake the doubts out of her head.

"Come in."

Mikan took a deep breath and pushed the door open to reveal a messy office, with Coach sitting at the table and Natsume standing beside it. She internally groaned before shutting the door.

"What's the matter Yukihara?" Coach asked.

"U-Um…" Mikan glanced Natsume's way, hoping Coach would understand what she meant. It seems that he did.

"Is it personal, your issue? Because if it isn't, then Natsume has to stay here, I have urgent business with him."

"Oh…Ok..." Mikan took a deep breath before continuing. "I-I want to drop out of Alice Academy and the basketball club!"

There was a silence and Mikan shifted uncomfortably in her seat. Coach eyed her.

"Why?"

Mikan rubbed her sweaty palms against her shirt and told her story.

"And that's why I feel that I don't deserve to be here," Mikan finished and let out the breath that she hadn't known she was holding. She stared down at her shoes, unwilling to meet the gazes of Coach and Natsume. She guessed they were probably thinking what a cheater she was.

"That's stupid," Natsume's velvet voice cut through the silence. Mikan let out a soft gasp and looked up to see Natsume's crimson eyes on her.

"That's stupid," he repeated, his gaze soft. "I believe that it is also part of you, as you said, it is the other side of you."

"I agree with Captain, I do not believe that the Yukihara Ren who surprised everyone on the day of the acceptance test with his high level of basketball was another person," Coach said and crossed his arms.

"But, I'm no use when I'm not in that mode," Mikan admitted, ashamed of her incompetence.

"Well, we'll train you then. I can see raw talent residing in both you and your other self. Only hard work is required. Oh actually, I have an idea. Captain, can you help Yukihara train?" Coach asked and looked expectedly at him. It seemed that Natsume didn't have much of a choice.

"I understand Coach," he said stiffly.

"So to conclude, Yukihara, you are not to leave," Coach finished and looked smug with his decision. "If that's it, then you two can both leave."

"What about what you called me for?" Natsume asked.

"Oh, I was going to call you to ask you to train Yukihara, but then you both came at the same time. Now if there's nothing else you want, I need to handle these papers now." Coach ushered them out of his office and closed the door with a thud.

Outside the office, Mikan and Natsume stood awkwardly beside each other for a few moments.

"Um…where are you going now?" Mikan asked trying to break the silence.

"Where else? My room."

"Since we're going to the same place, let's go together then!"

Natsume grunted however said nothing about declining. So they walked in silence for a while. Mikan never knew it was so hard walking with someone before, the silence was deafening. However, the silence stopped after they passed the school gates, however the alternative was a little too noisy for Mikan's liking.

"Ah! There he is! Natsume-kun!" a girl's high voice squealed. Mikan looked around for the source of the voice, and she found it soon enough. There was a cluster no, a crowd, of girls in the same school uniform waiting near the school gates.

"How come girls are here?" Mikan cluelessly asked.

"There's a private girls school next door, if you haven't noticed, they come visit sometimes," Natsume answered curtly as the girls began to crowd around him.

"Hey hey Natsume-kun, Alice Academy students are allowed to go out on weekends aren't they?" a girl asked.

"Yea, so what?" Natsume said and shifted his bag to his other shoulder. He looked bored.

"Then come shopping with us!"

"Come on, Natsume-kun!"

"You have to come! Movies too, let's go on a date!"

Suddenly, Mikan spotted one girl walked through the crowd, who parted in her presence, and directly to Natsume.

"Come on you girls, leave Natsume alone," she laughed. She had emerald green eyes that sparkled in the light and soft brown wavy hair that was tied into a low side ponytail. She was beautiful and Mikan couldn't help but stare with her mouth slightly ajar.

"Natsume's with me this weekend," she said in an authoritative tone. "Right, Natsume?" She smiled sweetly and Natsume slowly nodded. "Now scatter girls, otherwise you'll be hearing from the Student Council at school."

There was a series of moans and groans, however after a few minutes; all of the girls had left.

"Thanks," Natsume said.

"No probs, we're childhood friends after all!" the beautiful girl who seemed to be part of the Student Council remarked. "And you are?" It took a moment for Mikan to realise that she was talking to her.

"O-Oh, oh! I'm Yukihara Ren, nice to meet you," Mikan said, flustered that the beautiful girl was talking to her, it had never happened to her in her life before. The popular and pretty girls had never paid any attention to a normal girl like Mikan, so the attention was slightly uncomfortable for her.

"I'm Minobe Natsuki, call me Natsuki." Natsuki flahsed a smile at Mikan before facing Natsume. "So, _are _you free this weekend?"

Natsume placed his hand on Mikan's head. "Sorry, but I've got this guy to take care of. He's such a pain. And I have to go now, see you later, Natsuki." He walked off in the direction of the dorms, half-dragging Mikan with him. As Natsuki watched them fade into the distance, she narrowed her green eyes and she stretched her mouth into a thin smile.

"Hmm…it seems Natsume's found someone interesting. But I shall support his love because gender is a minor obstacle when it comes to true love!" Natsuki's eyes sparkled as she began quoting some more phrases from the books she read.

* * *

"After you," Natsume said and held the door for her to enter. Mikan felt a blush rising to her cheeks; it seemed that Natsume could be decent sometimes.

"Th-Thanks," Mikan managed squeeze out before dashing in. He smirked and closed the door.

"If you haven't noticed, you're still in your sports gear. Go shower first," he added before taking out a manga.

"I don't need you to tell me that!" Mikan retorted while gathering what she needed to shower. Her hand hovered over her underwear and stopped.

"Close your eyes and turn the other way," she snapped.

"What's with that tone? And why should I?" Natsume glanced over her way and saw the edge of what she was going to drag out of the drawer. He sighed and placed the manga over his face. "Happy now?" he asked.

Natsume vaguely heard a yes, some shuffling and then a door shutting.

* * *

Mikan stepped out and into a sea of white. This always happened after she took a long shower. Shaking her hair free of the droplets of water, Mikan slipped into her casual clothes. She then opened the door and stepped into the room.

"Ah, that was refreshing! You can go in now, Natsume, and just so you know, it's a little misty in there."

Natsume's crimson eyes flicked up from his manga and seemed to widen at the sight of Mikan.

"What's wrong, Natsume?" Mikan asked, confused. As soon as she said it, Natsume regained his composure and he put on his usual smirk.

"So you're a girl huh?"

* * *

-Mystical Ace

lol, thank you for the anonymous reviewer who pointed out my mistake in making Coach say Mikan instead of Yukihara. I've changed it to Yukihara now, sorry for the confusion. =)


	4. Revealed

**Revealed**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice. **

**Chapter being edited a little, for those who have read this chapter, there is no need to read it again. **

* * *

There was an awkward silence in the room as Mikan tried to process the words which came out of Natsume's mouth. Had she heard right? How did he know? What was she going to do?

"Wh-Wh-What?" she managed to say before she caught the sight of her reflection in a nearby mirror. Mikan saw her chestnut-coloured locks draping her back and immediately, her eyes widened. Mikan looked back into the shower to find her wig placed next to the sink. She had forgotten to wear it, what a fantastic way to get caught out.

"Well, you look pretty cute as a girl," Natsume teased, unaware or pretending to be unawaure, of Mikan's distress.

"D-D-Don't tell anyone ok, about that I'm a girl!"

"Why shouldn't I?"

"B-Because if someone knows, and it spreads, I'll definitely get kicked out of Alice Academy, so please!"

"Stop stuttering, and I won't tell anyone. It's no fun that way; this is a secret between us, our secret."

Mikan vaguely felt her eyebrow twitch. "Please stop making it sound romantic."

A half-smile appeared on his face just as the door swung open. Ruka and Hotaru standing together were to be seen in the midst of the door. Ruka's eyes widened at the sight of Mikan with her hair down while Hotaru just sighed, as if she was expecting this.

"Your secret's out already?" Hotaru asked earning a small nod from Mikan. Hotaru rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, I mean, getting caught out because you forgot to wear your stupid wig?"

Mikan stuck out her bottom lip in protest. "But you didn't have to wear a wig because you already had short hair, so you can't say that!"

"Anyways, shouldn't we like take into consideration of the poor guy standing next to me who looks like he's been hit by a truck or something? I see we have no choice but to tell them, I'll do the explaining," Hotaru said while seating herself in a chair and crossing her legs. She sure liked taking the spotlight.

* * *

They had just come back from dinner downstairs in the dining hall. Natsume was sitting on a chair with his feet propped up on the table, Mikan on her bed, Hotaru devising a new plan to earn money and Ruka, sitting tensely on the edge of a chair. Mikan rolled over on her bed and watched the face of Ruka intently. His facial expressions were constantly changing, one moment it was nervousness, the next embarrassment and so on. Mikan glanced Natsume's way to see his reaction; however his face was hidden by the manga he was reading.

"I-I feel kind of nervous like b-being in the same room with g-g-girls," Ruka said for the hundredth time, his face pink with a slight blush. At the corner of Mikan's eye, she saw a glint in Hotaru's eyes and suddenly, there was a flash and Hotaru was to be seen with a camera in her hand, smiling smugly at the photo she had just taken.

"This is going to sell well with the girls in the private school next to us," Hotaru said to herself, dollar signs appearing in her violet eyes.

"Give me that camera!" Ruka cried and leapt for it. Hotaru dashed out of the room with Ruka trailing close behind her. The door slammed shut, leaving Natsume and Mikan alone in the room. Mikan rolled over on her bed and tried to ignore the silence in the room. She wracked her brains to think of something to say, however nothing came to mind. Surprisingly, it was Natsume who broke the silence.

"Hey Polka," he said smoothly.

"Polka?"

"Polka Dots, the pattern on the underwear you showed me."

"I never showed you my underwear! Wait, was it possibly earlier on the day when I was getting ready for the shower?"

"Mmhhm."

Mikan's eyes widened and her face turned bright red. "Y-You pervert!"

"No, I told you, you showed me. I didn't want to see your stupid underwear."

Mikan opened her mouth for some counter-attack, however nothing came into mind. She frowned and remained silent.

"So, what do you want?" she asked and pulled the blankets over her head.

"I was thinking instead of sitting with nothing to do, I'll help you train, for basketball."

Mikan's head popped out from the bundle of blankets and she stared at him.

"What?" Natsume asked and raised an eyebrow. Mikan shook her head and scrambled out from her cocoon of blankets.

"I'm going to go change, I don't want to play basketball in my school uniform," Mikan informed him while looking around for something she could wear.

Natsume hopped off of his chair and stood up. "Same, you can take the bathroom, I'll change here. Don't come out until I tell you."

Mikan rolled her eyes. "I don't need you to tell me that."

* * *

Mikan closed the bathroom door and looked for a lock. It didn't have one. She wondered if she could trust Natsume to not come barging in.

"The bathroom door doesn't have a lock, don't let anyone near the bathroom, ok?" Mikan called and clenched her clothes tightly. What if Natsume decided to make use of the lock-less bathroom and do something inappropriate? Mikan shook her head; Natsume wouldn't do something like that.

"Yes, yes," Natsume replied.

"One yes is enough! And, don't come in, okay?"

"I won't. I mean, there's nothing to see anyways. Your chest is as flat as a boy's, but that's good for you as otherwise you wouldn't have been able to get into this school."

"Shut up!"

Mikan heard Natsume laugh and she sighed in relief. Natsume wasn't as bad as she thought. She replayed the sound of Natsume's quiet laugh in her head, marvelling at how good it sounded before she realised what she was doing. Shaking her head in disbelief, she unfolded her clothes.

"I'm done, you can come out now," Natsume called.

"Wait, I haven't even started!"

"Hurry up then Polka-dotted snail."

Mikan slipped into a pair of pants and pulled on a shirt before rushing outside. Waiting near the door was Natsume who was wearing a loose jacket over a black shirt. He had a sports bag casually slung over one shoulder and a hand in the pocket of his scruffy jeans.

"You should wear something over that shirt, it's cold outside," he suggested.

"Oh, it is? Ok, one moment, I need to look for a jacket," Mikan replied while fitting the wig on her head.

Natsume sighed before taking off his jacket and tossing it to Mikan. "Here, wear this and don't waste more time."

"What about you?"

Natsume picked up a jacket lying nearby on the table and grinned. "That's a good thing about leaving your things all over the place."

* * *

Mikan hugged the jacket closer as a frigid wind sent chills down her spine. She blushed slightly at the thought that it was Natsume's, however got rid of that thought as quickly as it came. His jacket was warm, possibly from him wearing it before. Thinking that, another blush threatened to arise, however she shook it away quickly before Natsume noticed.

"What are you shaking your head constantly for?" he asked, looking at Mikan strangely.

"Nothing."

Natsume didn't seem to buy it, however he changed topics. "If you're a girl, then Yukihara Ren isn't your real name right? Didn't you once call yourself…Mikan? That's it isn't it?"

Mikan nodded and walked around a corner, the gym was to be seen now. It looked magnificent with all the lights on; it wasn't your average gym which you expect to find in a school, it was the type that national sports teams competed in. Mikan's mouth hung slightly open in amazement, however she quickly closed it when she realised that she was letting the frigid air in.

"We're allowed to go in right?" she asked.

"Of course, this is a sports school; practicing is more than welcome."

Mikan stepped into the gym and her eyes lit up. It was like a real stadium with its big lights illuminated every corner. There already were a couple of people, however the gym was largely empty.

"Firstly, I need to work out your strengths and weaknesses," Natsume said while dropping his sports bag onto the floor. "And you'd better watch out, my training is tough."

* * *

The next day was Saturday, meaning no classes. Sunlight trickled in though the crack in the blinds and a cool wind danced in, ruffling Mikan's hair. It was so comfortable to not wear a wig now that her roommates already discovered her secret. Mikan lay sprawled on her bed, her blankets wrapped randomly around her. A tiny trail of sleep drool was evident on her pillow and mouth as she opened one of her eyes, Natsume's training had been tough, causing her to sleep like the dead. The first thing she saw was the white ceiling, and then Natsume who was on the bed next to her, reading something, presumably manga. He looked up and his bed hair flopped messily over his face.

"Oh, so you're awake, that's a shame," he said and got up.

"Good morning to you too. Also, where's Hotaru?"

"Imai and Ruka are downstairs in the dining hall, they're having breakfast."

"Why are you here then?"

Natsume sighed. "Who cares why I'm here. Anyways, it's too late to go down to the dining hall now, I'll cook."

Mikan didn't bother hiding the look of surprise on her face. "You can cook?"

"Quit asking stupid questions and change out of your teddy bear pyjamas, Polka Dots." After saying that, Natsume disappeared into the kitchen and the sound of cupboards opening could be heard. After lying in bed for another few minutes, Mikan took a t-shirt, jumper and pants before slowly lumbering into the bathroom. As she changed, she came to the conclusion that guys had a very limited choice of clothing compared to girls. She smoothed down her hair and walked to the kitchen. Before she saw the pancakes piled neatly on the plates, she smelt them.

"Pancakes!" Mikan exclaimed happily. Natsume turned around, holding a pan with a half-cooked pancake in it.

"Oh, you can eat first, I'll be done in a few minutes," he said and placed the pan on the stove. The first bite Mikan took of the pancakes, took her by surprise. The fluffiness and lightness of it was comparable to her mother's pancakes. Closing her eyes in delight, she took another bite.

"These are amazing, I never knew you could cook so well," she breathed as Natsume laid another pancake on top of the small pile he had in the middle of the table.

"That's good, and these weren't really that hard to cook. You just pour the mix into the pan and put it over the heat," Natsume stated and sat down. Mikan noticed that he didn't have plate or fork.

"Hey, aren't you going to eat?" she asked while savouring another bite. Natsume shook his head.

"I don't like sweet stuff, I have a sandwich," he said and pulled out a sandwich, seemingly out of nowhere.

Mikan cocked her head. "Why did you cook pancakes then?"

"Imai told me you like them."

The pancake on its way to Mikan's mouth stopped half-way. Did Natsume cook them because she liked them? She could feel her face getting hot and did her best to cover it; however nothing went unnoticed by Natsume.

"Don't get me wrong, Imai told me to cook for you since I had nothing to do anyways," he sighed and took a bite of his sandwich. Mikan let out the breath she hadn't known she was holding. It was weird when Natsume was actually considerate. Suddenly, there were several loud knocks on the door.

"Coming!" Mikan yelled and jogged to the door before yanking it open to reveal Tsubasa and the basketball gang standing outside the door.

"Oh hi," Mikan greeted. Tsubasa's mouth dropped open and the rest followed in a similar manner.

"H-H-H-H-Hair?" Shinji stammered, his eyes almost as wide as Tsubasa's mouth. Mikan was confused, what was so surprising about hair? It wasn't as if she was bald before. She raised her hand to her head to see if there was anything strange on her head, when she realised that she hadn't worn her wig. It was her turn to be surprised, her mouth dropped and her eyes were as wide as Shinji's. Wide-eyed, she and the basketball team stood facing each other for a few moments before Natsume sauntered over and broke the silence. It was rare for him to break the silence, but Mikan was grateful for it.

"Yo, guys. Surprised? You guys should come in, if you're waiting for an explanation," Natsume coolly said. Mikan marvelled his calmness as the basketball team filed in. Mikan had always thought that her room was humongous, however with the whole basketball team inside, it was a bare fit.

"So, where should I start?" Mikan began.

"You start at the beginning of course, plus, don't make it sound as if the story's very long because it isn't," Natsume snapped impatiently, earning a few laughs.

* * *

Tsubasa and the others had initially come to ask Natsume and her if they wanted to hang out somewhere fun before they'd discovered Mikan's secret. After they had heard she was a girl, the basketball team were absolutely against the idea of Mikan going out with them dressed as a boy for some reason.

"No is no! I want her to be herself when she's having fun with us!" Koko protested.

"Or is it because you like the idea of going out with a girl eh?" Tsubasa teased.

"But what if someone sees her as a girl and recognises her?" Hideaki asked, always the calm one.

"Then, can't we say that she's Ren's sister?" Shinji suggested, his boyish face full of hope. It seemed that they didn't get to see girls very often.

"Yes! See, no reason why she has to disguise as a boy now! Plus, I'm sure wearing a wig must feel bad, so I bet that Mikan will be happy to not disguise too!" Koko added, not even bothering to ask Mikan if it was true or not. It was true that Mikan hated the wig because of many reasons, but she still didn't like being forgotten. She glanced over at Natsume who had his manga over his head again. At least one person didn't seem to mind.

Soon, everyone was prepared and ready to go, it had been decided, without Mikan, that she didn't have to disguise. The basketball team made their way to the bus stop outside the Alice Academy which was already crowded with students.

"So where're we going to go?" Tsubasa asked while looking at the bus timetable.

"Swimming pool."

"Amusement park."

"Movies."

"Buffet."

"Restaurant."

"Hot Potting!"

"Why's this all food?"

"Fine then, bowling!"

"No more sports."

"Umm…..sitting?"

"Be quiet would you, Shinji."

They spent the next hour or so arguing until Tsubasa came to a sudden realisation. If they didn't catch the next bus, then they wouldn't have enough time to do anything as the school had a rule that students who went out had to be back by six in the evening.

"We have to catch the next bus! Otherwise, we can't go," he called out to everyone just as a bus rocked up. Causing a ruckus, the basketball team pushed into the bus and coincidentally, Mikan got the spot next to Natsume. He was looking outside the window with his earphones in his ears. A small breeze ruffled his hair and the aura around him almost seemed gentle. Mikan shifted uncomfortably at the closeness of him while Tsubasa and the others chatted away happily. Suddenly, the bus jerked, causing Mikan's shoulder to touch Natsume's. She jerked backwards at their contact and her face flushed red. Why was this so much like a date?

* * *

_-_Mystical Ace

Reviews are appreciated. =)


	5. Date?

Mikan stumbled out of the bus and took several deep breaths, enjoying the fresh air outside. It had been too suffocating inside the bus, due to a variety of reasons, Natsume as the main one. He sauntered out and looked around with his hands in his pockets as if he didn't have a care in the world.

"So this is the fun place we're going to, is an amusement park?" Natsume scoffed haughtily and ran his fingers through his ebony hair. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mikan jumping up and down with her eyes shining.

"You're such a kid," he sighed.

"I'm not! You're just a grandpa," Mikan retorted and glared at Natsume who shook it off casually.

"Man, I have to agree with Ren, I mean Mikan, on this one. An amusement park? I can't believe our luck, if that bus took us to some random shopping centre, I would have killed myself," Tsubasa laughed and faced the amusement park with a sense of superiority around him. A giant roller coaster stood grandly in the distant, colourful banners and balloons were everywhere and people of all ages were to be seen. The whole park had a very strong festive atmosphere to it.

"Let's go, let's go! Hurry up!" Mikan shouted excitedly and waved her hands while running ahead. As enthusiastic as she was before she entered the amusement park, she was even more enthusiastic in the actual park. Ride after ride, Mikan had the time of her life. There were times when her legs shook at the sight of a ride; however she still went on it and stumbled off with her legs wobbly again.

"Hey Mikan, let's stop for a while and have lunch. Shinji's been bugging me about his stomach for hours now," Tsubasa said and caught Mikan as she tripped over her own feet. Mikan weakly nodded and followed Tsubasa to a nearby food plaza. She plonked down and rested her head on the table, enjoying its cool temperature.

"That's what you get for being over-enthusiastic," Natsume said and ignored the waitress beside him who was gazing intently at him.

"I don't want to hear that from a person who sat on a bench for most of the time," Mikan moaned and eagerly gulped down the iced water in front of her.

"I'll have this thanks," Natsume said to the waiter.

Mikan stuck out her bottom lip. "Don't ignore me, and I'll have this one." Mikan pointed to a certain dish on the menu and the waitress nodded, casted one lingering glance at Natsume before moving on to the others. Soon, the food arrived and at the sight of it, Mikan made a full and swift recovery. She took the spoon with her eyes portraying nothing but excitement and began eating.

"Strange person," Natsume said.

"Let's go on this ride next!" Shinji called, pointing to the giant roller coaster.

"U-Um…I think I'll pass," Mikan said.

Tsubasa looked worriedly at the roller coaster then at Mikan. "Are you feeling sick?"

"Stupid girl, going on all those rides and eating all that food," Natsume remarked. Mikan's ears pricked up at the word 'stupid' and she glared at Natsume.

"I think I'll leave first, I'm kind of tired," Mikan said and picked up her backpack that all of a sudden seemed heaps heavier than before.

"Oh, okay. Awww…it won't be as fun without you," Tsubasa moaned before recovering and patting Mikan lightly on the head before giving her a light push to the exit.

"I'll see you back at school, have fun," Mikan called as she walked to the entrance. She turned her back to the group and looked up at the sky before sighing. It was kind of lonely without them. She let out a sigh and walked on.

"Yo."

Mikan let out a yelp and jumped back, her eyes wide. Her immediately hand flew to her heart which was beating erratically and she eyed the person who had suddenly appeared. Midnight coloured hair, crimson eyes and a tall figure? It wasn't that hard to figure out who it was.

"You idiot! Don't scare me like that!" Mikan shrieked and took a deep breath to calm herself.

"You're the idiot, who gets scared over such a thing? Anyways, I'm going back too," Natsume said with both hands in his pockets.

"Why?"

"It's a waste of time in the amusement anyways, I'd rather go back and sleep. You have a problem?"

Mikan sighed. "No, let's go then."

They walked slowly to the bus stop and as usual, there was no conversation, however Mikan had already gotten used to it. She seated herself on the seat the bus stop supplied while Natsume eyed the timetable.

"Next bus is in five minutes," he said and leaned against a nearby pole. He fished out his phone from his pocket and began texting someone. Mikan wondered who it was while swinging her legs and occasionally kicking a small rock. A car zoomed by, stirring up the wind and sending several leaves flying. After a few minutes, as Natsume had said, the bus rocked up and its door creakily opened. Mikan, who was staring off into space then, stood up abruptly and scrambled after Natsume onto the bus. She hurriedly paid the fare before looking for a seat.

"Seat, seat, seat," Mikan murmured and her eyes lit up when she spotted one near the back. She stumbled a bit when the bus began moving, however managed to get to the seat without falling. Mikan collapsed into the seat and enjoyed the relief that her legs needed. A trip to the amusement park had been extremely tiring, especially for someone who went on every ride they saw.

"What took you so long to realise the bus was here?" someone nearby asked. Mikan looked to her left and saw Natsume across the aisle.

"It's none of your business," Mikan replied and looked away. The bus's methodical swaying left her eyelids heavy and a wave of fatigue took over. Her vision blurred and Mikan lost her grip on reality, slipping into a dreamless sleep.

Natsume looked over and saw Mikan's head lolling on the shoulder of the person next to her. The person looked up, surprised to see a head on his shoulder and Natsume looked away and wondered what he should do. However, without him meaning to, his eyes managed to find their way back to Mikan. A slight frown appeared on his usually smooth brow and for some reason, he felt agitated. Gritting his teeth, Natsume stood up and approached the person whose shoulder was occupied by Mikan's small head.

…

A sharp jolt from the bus awoke Mikan from her sleep. She drowsily opened her eyes and glanced around, the light hurting her unaccustomed eyes. As she looked around, Mikan wondered why Natsume seemed to be taking up a lot of her vision before she realised that he was only centimetres away from her face. Her eyes widened and she automatically jerked back, hitting the window behind her.

"You're finally awake. Your head's so heavy, my shoulder's all sore now," Natsume muttered while stretching his shoulders.

"D-Did I sleep on you?" Mikan asked and stared at him with eyes as wide as saucers while dreading the answer.

"Yes, and I think you managed to get drool on me too."

"I don't drool while I sleep! And….how? You were sitting over there, how did you get over here…?"

Natsume sighed. "So clueless aren't you? Well, the unlucky person who had to bear the weight of your head was frantically looking around for help. He managed to catch my eye and I, who was feeling sympathetic then, decided to swap places with him. He gladly swapped and then I had to have a heavy head on my shoulder instead. Get it?"

Mikan nodded slowly and looked over Natsume's shoulder to see the person who had been next to her, in Natsume's seat. She smiled awkwardly at him when he looked over. The person had light-coloured hair that was cropped so that the hair didn't interfere with his eyesight. He pushed up his glasses and shyly smiled back.

"Sorry about sleeping on you," Mikan said guiltily.

"It's ok, I was just unaccustomed to having someone on my shoulder, also, I'm Yuu Tobita," he said. "Your boyfriend seemed a little jealous, so I swapped seats with him. You should be happy to have such a nice boyfriend."

Natsume stiffened visibly. Mikan was confused, how come what Natsume had said didn't match up with what this person was saying? She looked at Natsume who revealed nothing on his stony face.

"Well, such a nice conversation you two are having, sorry to interrupt it, but we have to get off now," Natsume said and grabbed Mikan by the wrist before dragging her off the bus.

"W-Wait! What are you doing? This isn't our stop!" she cried as the bus doors shut firmly behind her. Mikan looked around to see a small shopping centre and park that she had never seen before.

"Don't listen to that nonsense the guy was spouting, he was just embarrassed about swapping places with me," Natsume said stormily and let go of Mikan's wrist, which was starting to hurt from his tight grip. She shook her hand gingerly and sent an accusing glare at Natsume who ignored it.

"Anyways, why did you get off at this stop?" Mikan asked angrily.

"This is the place I wanted to stop by before we returned to school," Natsume lied smoothly while looking around.

"So where did you want to go?"

"Hm…"

"Hm?"

"Be quiet, I'm thinking."

"You're thinking about where to go? Doesn't that mean that you didn't have a place you wanted to stop by? So basically, we're in the middle of nowhere?"

"Stop talking and I do know where I want to go. I need to buy my sister, Aoi, a present for her birthday."

Saying that, Natsume began walking at a brisk pace to the shopping town.

"W-Wait! And, you had a sister?!" Mikan shouted and ran after him, her hand tightly clutching her bag that was bouncing against her thighs.

….

Mikan entered the shop and all soft toys of different shapes and sizes could be seen. Teddy bears, owls, whales and many other animals were organised neatly on shelves and display stands. There was a faint cinnamon scent in the store that was pleasant and added to the rustic feeling of the store.

"Wow! I never knew such a cool shop existed before!" Mikan breathed and took in every detail around her.

"I never knew that either," Natsume muttered under his breath. He bent down and picked up a light chocolate brown bear that had a red ribbon tied around its neck.

"Do you think Aoi would like this?" Natsume asked. Mikan turned around and her eyes widened at the sight of something. She rushed past Natsume, ignoring or forgetting about his question. Annoyed, he turned around to see Mikan hugging a giant salamander toy. Somehow, there seemed to be sparkles around her.

"Forget I ever asked you," Natsume sighed and walked to the counter before placing the toy on the counter. He fished the money out of his wallet and waited for the shopkeeper to finish the transaction. Shoving the change into his pocket, Natsume took the bag that the present was in and walked to Mikan who was still with the salamander. Natsume grabbed her jacket and tugged her away from the salamander and out of the shop.

"Embarrass yourself all you like, but don't embarrass me," Natsume hissed and let go of her jacket. Mikan stuck out her bottom lip and frowned before walking away in a huff. Natsume sighed and began to walk after her before he noticed an ice-cream shop next to him. A small smile beginning to emerge on his face, he jogged to the shop and took out his black wallet.

….

Mikan stomped away in no particular direction. Natsume didn't have to say it like that, it wasn't as if liking a cute salamander was a crime. Anyways, didn't most people find salamanders cute? As Mikan stomped on, she noticed that Natsume was nowhere in sight. Worries began to plague her, without Natsume, she would definitely get lost. What if she couldn't get out of the shopping centre? Then she wouldn't make it back to school. How could she get back to school? As she was deeply engrossed in her thoughts, she managed to bang into a wall. Rubbing her head, she stepped away from the wall and into another wall. Why were there two walls? Mikan shook her head, it wasn't a wall, it was a person. She turned around to see Natsume holding an ice-cream in one hand with a smirk on his face.

"Here," Natsume said and handed Mikan the ice-cream. "For before."

It took Mikan a few seconds to realise what he was talking about, the sight of the ice-cream had successfully blown her grudge away.

"Thanks," Mikan said. Natsume let a small smile show on his face before he led the way out of the shopping centre.

"Oh, and while you were grudging, I figured out a way to get back to school. You see, we take this bus and then…" Natsume said while pointing to a map he'd gotten from the concierge.

Soon, Mikan and Natsume returned to the school. As Mikan ran towards the gates, she pulled on her wig and managed to slip in just before the automatic gates slammed shut.

"T-That was close," Mikan panted and took a deep breath. She glanced over at Natsume to see that he was breathing normally as if that intense run had been nothing. Seeing his calm state, Mikan suddenly remembered Natsume's basketball game earlier on. Natsume had managed to get past every single defender with his amazing speed. He hadn't needed to use fakes to slip past them; he had used sheer speed and amazing footwork.

"Amazing," Mikan said quietly, however Natsume heard, he heard everything.

"Who? Me?"

"Of course not you, you're the last one who I would call amazing. Anyways, we should hurry up and return otherwise Tsubasa and the others are going to worry."

"Sure, sure."

"One sure is enough. How many times do I have to tell you that?"

Natsume smirked.

"Let's go," he said as a chilly breeze ruffled their hair. Mikan nodded with a small smile on her face made visible by the moonlight.

"It was fun today."


End file.
